Withdrawing Riot Cases Against BJP Leaders not in Public Interest, Muzaffarnagar Admin tells Yogi Govt

At the beginning of this month, a delegation consisting of BJP MPs and MLAs from Muzaffarnagar, many of whom are accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots cases, met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to request him to expedite the process of withdrawal of cases against them. Riot accused BJP leaders like Sanjeev Baliyan, a former Union minister and Muzaffarnagar BJP MP, Sangeet Som, party MLA from Sardhana, met the CM at his office in Lucknow and told him the government should hurry up the process of withdrawing the riots cases.

The attempt of the Yogi Adityanath government to withdraw cases against the riot accused BJP leaders, hit a big roadblock on Monday when the District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police of Muzaffarnagar opposed the move saying the legal process may have gone way ahead of the stage of withdrawal. He also stated that such a move would not be in favour of public interest. Both the senior most officials of the riot-torn district advocated against withdrawing the cases saying that the move would not be “in favour of the idea of justice.”

The prominent BJP leaders who were booked on charges of provoking the riots include former Union Minister and party MP from Muzaffarnagar Sanjiv Balyan, Bijnor MP Bhartendu Singh, UP cane development minister and MLA from Thana Bhawan Suresh Rana, Budhana MLA Umesh Malik and party leader Sadhvi Prachi. Baliyan and fellow BJP leaders were booked for inciting violence through their speeches in a mahapanchayat (public meeting) at Nagla Mandaur on August 30, 2013, ahead of the riots. They were charged under Sections 188 (violating prohibitory orders), 354 (assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharging his duty) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code. The Nagla Mandaur mahapanchayat was one of the first public meetings which led to mobilisation for the riots in the first week of September 2013.
 

Raj Singh, Special Secretary in the Uttar Pradesh department of justice wrote a letter on January 5 to the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police of Muzaffarnagar, asking if the riot related cases could be withdrawn in “public interest”.

In their response to the government letters, the DM and SSP said that the proposed move would not be in “public interest”. Their opposition came after similar recommendations from the district prosecution department which is looking at the cases.

“The State government last month had sent us a government order asking about our opinion about withdrawal of some cases related to the 2013 riot cases against some political individuals. We advocated that withdrawing the mentioned cases would not be in public interest because the court has already taken cognisance against the accused in these matters,” said one of the senior most prosecution officers of the district prosecution department assigned to supervise the sensitive cases.

“The fundamental point is that there is not much rationale in withdrawing these cases at this stage when the police submitted the charge-sheet long ago. The court cases have reached the crucial stage of framing of charges which is a stage not far from final judgement. And then it does not favour the idea of justice,” he added on condition of anonymity fearing government action.

Senior officials in Chief Minister's Office told Newsclick that at least two delegations of BJP MPS and MLAs who are also accused in the riot related cases, met Yogi Adityanath in February first week to request him to hasten the process of withdrawal of the case against them. There was a reason for the accused to panic. The trial of the cases may have moved much past the stage from where it could be easily withdrawn by the State government, the argument given by the district prosecution department and endorsed by the DM and the SSP of Muzaffarnagar.

It is important to mention here that most of the cases where the ruling party lawmakers are accused are under trial at the local Muzaffarnagar court at a very slow pace due to their non-appearance in court.

The opposition of the district prosecution department and the district administration to the withdrawal of cases against the BJP leaders, makes the Yogi government's job difficult. Had the district administration endorsed the idea, the government would have filed a withdrawal petition before the local court which would have subsequently gone into the merits and demerits of the petition and would have finally decided on withdrawing the cases.